Animal Equality UK has revealed footage of alleged fish health and welfare abuses committed on a harvest vessel operated by Scottish trout producer Kames.
The animal rights NGO said covert filming of Kames’ Tiffany II harvest boat dated 17 July catalogued fish being subjected to crowding and delays before slaughter, as well as instances where they were not stunned properly, left too long before stunning and bleeding and – in at least one case – neither stunned nor bled.
Animal Equality UK executive director Abigail Penny told The Grocer the footage showed “farmed fish suffer enormously in their final moments of life”.
“Kames touts itself as a small-scale, artisanal, family-run business, but consumers should be under no illusion – like every other form of factory farming, this is industrialised suffering,” she continued.
The RSPCA Assured certified business is known to supply UK supermarkets including Waitrose, M&S and Morrisons and has been farming fish on the west coast of Scotland for 54 years.
Responding to the footage, Kames MD Andrew Cannon said it was conducting a “thorough internal investigation into the footage and the allegations raised” and that it had shared the material with the RSPCA.
“Kames takes fish health and welfare extremely seriously,” he said, adding that the business would seek further independent input and take necessary steps to address “any shortcomings in our procures or operations” should they be identified.
“We care deeply about the health and welfare of our fish and have continually worked to improve standards throughout that time. Our team takes great pride in the care and husbandry provided to our fish throughout their lives,” he concluded.
However, Dr Mark Borthwick, director of food policy thinktank Articora, said the footage highlighted broader issues. While “a reasonable observer would argue that this process does compromise the welfare of the fish”, the requirements for producers show “the industry accepts this as a fact of life”, he said.
Penny has called on the Scottish government to introduce species-specific slaughter legislation, without which “millions of farmed fish remain at real risk of extreme, prolonged suffering before they die”.
“The government boasts about having introduced guidance, but guidance alone simply does not cut it,” she added.
In a statement, an RSPCA Assured spokesperson said the welfare of farmed animals was its “absolute priority” but that its enquiry was ongoing and that it was “unable to comment further at this time”.
“We take all complaints about poor welfare or standards breaches extremely seriously and we are reviewing the footage and looking into these allegations,” they added.
“Animal welfare is vital to us. We are investigating this and will take any necessary action,” said a Waitrose spokesperson.
Morrisons, meanwhile, said it took “these concerns very seriously”.
The treatment of animals shown was “completely unacceptable and falls short of the high standards we expect. We welcome and support Kames and RSPCA’s immediate investigation and have suspended supply from this farm with immediate effect”, the retailer added. M&S was also approached.
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